http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/...ate_sales.html
Lap dance tax? Court says erotic dances are not an art and subject to state sales tax
BY Glenn Blain
DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU
Friday, June 10th 2011, 2:06 PM
ALBANY - Coming soon to a jiggle joint near you - The Tax Man!
A state appeals court has ruled lap dances cannot be considered art - and should be subject to state sales tax.
"In our view, there can be no serious question that - at a bare minimum - petitioner failed to meet its burden of establishing that the private dances offered at its club were choreographed performances," Justice John Egan Jr. wrote in the Appellate Division ruling.
The decision caps a long-running dispute between the state and an Albany-area strip club called Night Moves.
State officials charged that the club - an adult juice bar - owed the state $124,921 in sales tax, plus interest for admission charges and private dance sales.
Club owners disputed the charge, arguing that its performances were "dramatic or musical arts performances" not subject to sales tax.
Egan rejected that argument.
"The record reflects that the clubs' dancers are not required to have any formal dance training and ... often rely upon videos or suggestions from other dancers to learn their craft," the judge wrote.
A spokeswoman for the state Division of Taxation and Finance would not comment.